A Gift Money Can't Buy
by InternetGirl123
Summary: Once again, humanized. Private gets fed up with Julien's selfish ways and volenteers him at a home for the elderly. Can helping out a lonely old man help Julien see he's not the only one in the world? My Christmas story!
1. Meeting Mr Candlewick

My long awaited Christmas special! Will Julien learn that there's more to life than himself? Find out!

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A Gift Money Can't Buy

Chapter One: Meet Mr. Candlewick

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It was two weeks before Christmas. Private and Jacob were at the mall, doing some Christmas shopping. Private was looking though a window, at a black shirt with a colorful explosion on the front which he knew Rico would love, when he spotted Julien coming out of a different clothing store.

"Hello, Julien," Private said, walking up to him.

"Oh, hello," Julien said. "Hey, check out this shirt. Is it not awesome?" Julien pulled a shirt out of a bag. It appeared to have been splattered with different colored paints.

"That's cool, Julien." Private said. "Who's it for?"

Julien looked confused. "Uh, for me. Duh!"

Private sighed. This was the third time he had run into Julien at the mall this month, and every time he asked who his newly purchased product was for, he always said himself. He knew Julien was selfish, but this? Had he bought Christmas presents for anyone else? Private felt that he had to do something about this. He decided right there in the middle of the mall that he was going to fix Julien's selfish ways.

The next day, Private stood in front of Julien's front door. He was scared that Julien would refuse to go with him. He would probably get screamed at. But, it was for Julien's own good. Shaking, he knocked on the door. Julien answered after a moment.

"Oh, hello," Julien said, though he was a little surprised by who was at the door.

"Hi, Julien," Private said nervously. "Um, would you care to come somewhere with me?"

"Ooh! Is it a pants store?" Julien eagerly asked.

Private was very confused with this. "Uh, no."

"Is it a seafood restaurant?"

"Wha- you hate seafood!"

"Which is why I'm asking if that's where we're going, because if we are going there, I'm not going!"

Private sighed. "You'll find out when we get there.

Julien was confused, for as long as he could remember, he had never went anywhere alone with someone besides his father or Maurice. Defiantly not Private. Despite his thought, he grabbed his coat from the coat rack inside the door and followed Private to the elevators.

Once they were outside, Private led him to the corner, across the street, and walked down the sidewalk. For a while it was silent. Private was thinking about how Julien might react when he told him where they were going and why they were going there. Julien was wondering where they were headed, and eagerly hoped they were going to a pants store.

When they were down the street from their location, Private decided to tell Julien where they were going.

"So, Julien, do you want to know where we're going?"

"Is it a pants store?"

"No!"

"Is it a shoe polishers'?"

"What?"

"My shoes need shining!"

"No! Listen Julien. I've noticed that, well, you seem to buy a lot of stuff for yourself."

"Well, yeah, I'm the king, after all."

"Um, right. But don't you know that there are people who don't have anything?"

"Nothing?"

"No homes, no food, not even family."

Julien was silent. He could relate to not having family, or at least not much. It was just him and his dad.

"It seems to me that you don't care about anyone but yourself."

"That's a lie!" Julien yelled.

"Then why don't you prove it?"

"I will!"

"I know you will."

"Yes, I- wait, what?" Julien was confused.

"I know you will prove you care about others."

"How?"

Private took a deep breath. "Julien, I signed you up for volunteer work."

"WHAT?" Julien screamed. "No one signs the king up for something without permission!"

"Well, I did."

"This is an outrag- wait, am I volunteering at a pants store?"

"Enough about the pants store!" Private exclaimed.

"Aww," Julien whined. "Then where am I volunteer-er-ing?"

"At a home for the elderly." Private said.

"What! I'm not going to volunteer for old people!"

"Oh yes you are. You said you could care about someone other than yourself."

"I never said that someone would an old person."

"Well, it's going to be. End of discussion."

Private then turned and headed for elderly home, only to realize that Julien was not following. He was walking in the other direction. Private sighed, grabbed Julien's arm, and, despite his complaining, dragged him down the street.

Private and Julien entered a lobby that was warm and smelled like vanilla. Christmas decorations hung all around, with a large Christmas tree in the corner. Private approached the desk, still dragging Julien behind him.

"Hello, Mrs. Rialin." Private greeted, as he did every time he came here.

"Hello Percy," she said. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Julien," Private said, gesturing to Julien. "He'd like to spend some time with some with someone here."

Julien looked at Private, shocked at his response. "No I wouldn't!" he said, but that's all he got out before Private elbowed him in the ribs.

"I see. Let me see who's open." Mrs. Rialin looked at her clipboard. Right now, as it seemed, only one person didn't have a visitor.

"How about Mr. Candlewick?" she asked. "He's available."

"Isn't he always available?" Private asked quietly. Mrs. Rialin nodded.

"What kind of last name is 'Candlewick'?" Julien asked, before Private elbowed him again. "Stop that, Swimmer!"

"Perhaps you could cut the attitude then, hmm?" Private said. Julien grumbled.

"Mr. Candlewick's room is at the end of the hall."

"Thank you, Mrs. Rialin." Private said. He and Julien began walking down the hall. Julien was silent, but his face showed he was mad. They soon arrived at a door that said 'Mr. Wayne Candlewick'. Private knocked on the door.

"Come in," said a gentle voice from behind the door. Private opened the door, and he and Julien walked in.

The two found an elderly man, possibly in his 80s, sitting in a rocking chair. The thing was, he was knitting. He was rather large, and had light grey hair. He was wearing a red sweater with a grey stripe across the middle.

"Hi, Mr. Candlewick." Private said, shyly. He had met most of the people living in the building. Mr. Candlewick was not one of them. "I'm Percy Swimmer. This is Julien Ringers. He'd like to spend some time with you."

"Oh, well that'd be nice." Mr. Candlewick said. His voice didn't say much, but you could see his face light up.

"I'll be back in an hour," Private whispered to Julien, before leaving the room and closing the door. Julien turned to Mr. Candlewick.

"Well, don't just stand there! Take your coat off, have a seat!" Mr. Candlewick said, gesturing first to the coat rack then to his neatly made bed. Julien decided that he would do this, but only because he was stuck here. If he knew how to get home, he'd have been out of there already. He hung his winter coat on the rack and sat down on the bed.

"So," Mr. Candlewick said. "What grade are you in?"

"Seventh." Julien said, with no emotion at all.

"Really! You look older then that!"

Julien's eyes got wide. "Are you calling me old?"

"No, no, not at all!" Mr. Candlewick said. "You're just taller than the average seventh grader, that's all."

"Oh." That was all Julien had to say.

"What do you like to do?"

"What?"

"For fun? What do you do for fun?"

"Oh." Julien said. "Well, I do like to dance."

"Really? I love dancing!"

"You do?" Julien was surprised that an old man liked to dance. This was interesting.

"Well, not your modern dances, I'll bet. Those are too high-tech for me. But, if you wanted, I could show you how we danced in the olden days."

"Really?"

"Sure!"

"Okay!"

And for the next hour, Mr Candlewick taught Julien his dances from his time. And Julien showed Mr. Candlewick some of his favorite dances, such as the Electric Noodle. Julien was almost sad when Private showed up at the door.

"So, how did it go?" Private asked, as he and Julien started back to Central Park Apartments.

"Eh, it went okay." Julien said.

"You seemed to be having a lot of fun."

"Eh."

On the outside, Julien was bored. But on the inside, he was bursting to tell someone about that whole hour. Dying to show someone the dances he had learned. But he couldn't go and just tell anyone that he had been hanging out with an old guy who knits. Could he? Julien had to admit to someone that he had just had fun with and elderly person who had no sense in fashion. But he couldn't do that without losing his own self respect. Or other's respect. But, what he didn't know, was that he didn't have respect from very many people. Perhaps that may change.

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Julien had fun with an old person? I don't think he's the real Julien... and what was the deal with the pants store? Anyway, I welcome your reviews! It's very simple, but I'll put directions anyway: Press blue button below.

Did anyone watch the Penguins holiday special? I loved it! Especially when the lemurs high jacked the news van and stole the giant Christmas tree (spoiler alert if you haven't seen it!). Also, less than two weeks left until Christmas! Who's excited! Oh, and also, I have a two hour delay for school tomorrow (I believe it's better to not announce those the day before; they don't know the weather will be bad!), so maybe I'll get started on the next chapter!


	2. Thinking

**Yay! The second chapter! And only two days of school this week (unless we get a cancellation or another delay; then we have to go Wednesday). My goal is to finish this story by Christmas, but I don't think it will happen. Anyway, I would like to thank _Illyria Lives, lemonshark, EppopinkfangirlXDXDXD, and Kukipie _for reviewing! Candy cane cookies for everyone! To enjoy while you read the new chapter. **

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A Gift Money Can't Buy

Chapter Two: Thinking

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Private couldn't stand it. Was Julien learning anything about caring for others? Before he came to actually get Julien, he would crack the door to find Julien and Mr. Candlewick having a great time, playing a game, or dancing, or just talking and laughing. It had been a week since that Sunday Private took Julien to meet Mr. Candlewick, and they had been back there three times since. But on the walk home, all Julien would say was "eh". What was Private to do? It seemed to him nothing. At least right now. Right now, Private could of two options he could do: think about his birthday, which was on the 23rd, or do his math homework, which was due tomorrow. He decided on the math homework.

Julien should've been doing his math homework, too. Of course, he wasn't, being the terrible student he was. Instead, he was sitting on the floor of the of the storage room in the back of his dad's bar, playing video games with Maurice, Mort, and Kylie. Except, his mind wasn't fully set on the game like it usually was. Half his brain was focused on blasting down innocent unicorns. The rest was thinking about what Private had said.

Those words hurt. He didn't want to believe him. But deep down, Julien had to admit that Private was right. He was greedy, selfish, and didn't care about anyone but himself. Not even his best friend. Maurice did everything for him, he would do just about anything to make him happy, and how did Julien treat him? Like dirt, that's how. And Mort? Mort practically worshiped him, and Julien was meaner to him then he was to Maurice. He couldn't say much about Kylie, though. They both hated each other with a passion. However, Julien was now starting to feel ashamed, for he just realized that he didn't even have much respect for his own father! He gave him all the things and extra money he wanted, and what did Julien give him in return? Nothing.

Now that he thought about, maybe Private was doing him some good. But he couldn't bring himself to admit that he liked Mr. Candlewick. And even if he really tried to change himself, he would have a hard time proving that he cared for others. A very hard time.

"Julien?"

"Huh?"

"The game's over. Why are you still pushing buttons?"

Julien looked at Kylie, who was staring at him like he was crazy. Then again, she always stared at him like that. Julien couldn't take this anymore, this constant feeling that everyone thought he was crazy. Maybe he was, but he didn't want people thinking that. He stood up.

"Hey, where you goin'?" Maurice asked, confused.

"Somewhere," Julien muttered, grabbing his coat from the floor and walking out the back door.

When Julien arrived back at his apartment, he went to his room and flopped down on his bed. He sighed. He always loved this time of year. Of course, not for the joy of friends and family. Simply for the gifts. He wasn't feeling so happy now. He looked at his calender. Christmas was only six days away. And his best friend's birthday was only four days away, on the 23rd **(no, Private is not his best friend. He and Maurice just happen to have the same birthday. Weird, right?**). He had a lot to do. But, it was Sunday. He was busy. Because in about twenty minutes, Private would be at his front door. And they would walk to the home for the elderly. And Julien would spend an hour with Mr. Candlewick.

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**Sorry it's short. And about the 'blasting innocent unicorns' part, I have nothing against unicorns, I just thought it would be funny. Oh, and in case you forgot, Kylie is Maurice's sister, and she is Mort's age. I will have a list of my OCs on my profile eventually. Anyway, please review, and I hope you all have short school weeks!**


	3. The Reason Why

**Only three more days until Christmas! This is the second to last chapter. I don't think this is one of my better stories, but I tried. Besides, the ending will be good, I'll promise you that. Anyway, special thanks to _Kowalski Fanatic, Kukipye _(I apolagize for miss spelling your name; and perhaps Eppo's right, you are very hyper :)), _EppopinkfangirlXDXDXD_, and _lemonshark_ (yeah, he doesn't really stop being selfish, he just cares for others a little bit more) for reviewing! Now, on with the story!** A Gift Money Can't Buy

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Chapter Three: The Reason Why

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Private sighed. That afternoon, he had seen Julien at the mall again. But this time, he didn't dare go ask him what he bought. He couldn't take the disappointment. Private decided that he needed to know why Julien was so rude and selfish to help him change (wow, Private is really determined, isn't he?). He couldn't really ask Julien. You can't just walk up to someone and ask "Why are you so selfish?". So, when he got home, he went to his next best resource: Maurice.

Private knocked on his door. He was slightly hoping that Maurice would answer and not Kylie. She could be a real pain when answering the door. Private's wish didn't come true. Kylie opened the door. Private sighed, ever so quietly.

"Hi Kylie," Private said. "Is your brother here?"

"I'm nine, Private." she said. "You don't need to talk to me like I'm a baby."

Private rolled his eyes. "Well, is he here?"

Kylie frowned. In order to make up for the door never being for her, she enjoyed bugging her brother. Well, she enjoyed that all the time, but she liked it more when she had a reason. "MAURICE!"

"I'm right here," Maurice said, walking up beside her, holding his ears. "Was that necessary?"

"Yes," Kylie said, smirking.

"No, it wasn't."

"Yes, it was!"

Maurice sighed. "Get out of here."

"You can't kick me out, it's my house, too!"

"Then get out of the front door area!"

"Fine! Pushy." Kylie muttered, leaving to go to her room.

Private sighed. This would be just as hard as asking Julien personally. "Maurice, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

Private took a deep breath. "Has Julien always been so, you know, selfish?"

Maurice leaned back against the door frame. "Why do you wanna know?"

"Because I can't stand to see him care for himself and no one else. Why do you put up with it?"

Maurice sighed. "It's a long story."

Private nodded.

"I think it all started when his mom died. They were really close. See, when all the men would go out looking for food, the women stayed with all the kids. She taught him a lot of things that he would find incredibly boring now."

"When she died, I think what happened was that he needed a way to feel strong when he was breaking down on the inside. He changed. We were both different. When my dad died, I got quieter. But when his mom died, Julien got louder. A lot louder."

"That's why he loves music? And dancing?" Private asked.

"Yep. He needed something to do. But the reason he's selfish? As far as I'm concerned, that was Mort's fault."

"Mort's?" Private was very surprised at this. How could Mort make Julien so selfish?

"The three of us were in the jungle like we usually were. We were bored, so we were trying to think of something to do. Mort eventually suggested we play Castle. Julien called being the king. I think what happened was that he liked the experience of being in charge. So he proclaimed himself King Julien. He was a lot better back then, though. He was actually a good king. It was around Josh's birthday (Josh is Mort's older brother, in case you forgot) that the selfish greediness kicked in."

"What happened?"

"He noticed that Josh got like, one more present for his birthday than Julien got for his. He got all mad for some reason, and that wasn't like him. That's when he really changed. His dad decided that it might be better to move him somewhere else, and since he was best friends with my mom and Mort's parents, we all just moved together."

"And you moved here to New York."

"Yeah. That's when Julien really got bossy and rude."

"Is that why you always used to look so confused when did something like that?"

"Yeah. I didn't really understand why that happened to him."

Private sighed. He knew what it was like being cut off from someone he loved. But at least he could see his dad.

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**That's chapter three. Hope you enjoyed. This isn't really one of my favorite stories, because I feel that it's rushed. Anyway, please tell me what you think of it in the reviews! **


	4. The Party

**This is the last chapter, people! And for the very first time, I'm publishing something in the morning! I wrote this last night, I just wanted to wait until today to post it! Anyway, special thanks to Kukipye, EppopinkflygirlXDXDXD, and lemonshark for reviewing! Enjoy!**

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A Gift Money Can't Buy

Chapter Four: The Party

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Julien couldn't help but feel almost depressed. But why? It was Christmas Eve. The Christmas Eve party, which was held annually in the lobby, was in twenty minutes, and he wasn't excited like he usually was. Private's words still stung, replaying themselves over and over in his mind. Dressed in a white dress shirt and dark blue jacket, his hair combed and without his favorite visor, he made a decision. Private was right. And he was going to prove it to him, prove it to everyone, that he could care for someone other than himself. He told his father where he was going, grabbed his orange coat from the rack, and left his apartment.

In fifteen minutes, he had arrived at the elderly home (I never actually named this place, now did I?). Stepping into the warm lobby, he found some of the residents singing carols around the large tree. Julien did not see who he was looking for, so he walked quickly down the hall until he came to the last door. He knocked.

"Come in," a voice came. Who's door is he knocking at? Mr. Candlewick's, of course, use your brain!

Julien opened the door. What he saw made him sad. Mr. Candlewick sat alone in his chair. A small Christmas tree stood on the table.

"Hello, Mr. Candlewick."

"Hello, Julien! What are you doing here? It's Christmas Eve!"

Julien hesitated. "Well, I could ask you the same question. Why aren't you with family?"

"Oh, none of them live here in New York. They think it's too crowded and rundown." Julien nodded. That's what he had thought of New York when he first moved here.

"Well, why aren't you out with the others singing? Why are you sitting in here all alone?"

"Between you and me," Mr C. said. "Those guys are a bunch of duds." Julien smiled. "As for me, well, maybe I'm just a loner. Now, why don't you have seat?"

"Actually, our Christmas party starts soon," Julien said.

"Oh," Mr. Candlewick said. He sounded disappointed.

"But," Julien said. "That's why I came down here. Would you care to come?"

You could see Mr. Candlewick's eyes light up. "Well, why not?"

After getting permission from Ms. Rialin, Julien and Mr. Candlewick, arm in arm, exited the building and ventured out into the chilly winter night.

Soon, they arrived at Central Park Apartments. They entered the lobby to find almost everyone socializing. Now, these annual parties weren't for everyone in the building. Just some of the families, including Skipper's, Kowalski's, Rico's, Private's, Julien's, Maurice's, Mort's, Marlene's, Doris's, Molly's, Maddie's, Phil and Mason's, Bada and Bing's, Joey's, and some others. That might seem like a pretty cramped party, but you don't know just how enormous that lobby is.

Julien looked to the corner, the corner in which Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private usually stayed in for a lot of the party. He caught Private's eye for a moment. He smiled at him. Private smiled back. He looked for the four girls, who were more in the middle of the room, talking about something. 'Girl stuff,' Julien thought. He looked at the snack table, where Maurice was trying to keep Mort and Kylie from eating all the cookies.

"Mr. Candlewick, are you hungry at all? 'Cause I could really go for some Christmassy cookies."

"Ooh, well that sounds good."

The two headed to the snack table (yummy) to find that most of the cookies were gone.

"Hey, Maurice, where are all the cookies?" Julien asked, annoyed. He really wanted a Christmas cookie.

"Ask your worshiper." Maurice said, pointing to Mort.

Julien narrowed his eyes at Mort. "Mort, where are the cookies?"

Mort swallowed the cookie he was eating. "Um, they are not in my pockets."

"Oh, okay." Julien said. Kylie giggled.

"Oh, and do you know where the cookies are?" he asked her.

"No."

"Then what are you holding behind your back?"

Kylie brought one hand from behind her back. "Nothing."

Maurice, who was standing behind her, rolled his eyes and yanked the cookies out of her other hand.

Kylie pretended to look surprised, but failed. "Oh, how did those get there?"

Maurice set the cookies on the almost empty plate, reached into Mort's front pockets, and pulled out two more cookies.

Julien gasped. "Mort! How dare you lie to me!" Mort giggled. Maurice handed Julien the cookies. Julien inspected them "Ew! Mort's pocket lint!" Mort and Kylie burst out laughing.

Kowalski's dad then called out "Candy cane drop!" Upon hearing this, all the kids cheered.

"What's the candy cane drop?" Mr. Candlewick asked.

"Every year, we tie a big net full of candy canes to the ceiling. There are ropes on each end of the net. When it's time, two people each pull on two ropes, and all the candy canes come falling down. All the kids try to grab as many as they can. Who ever has the most when they have all been collected wins!" Julien explained.

"What do you win?"

"The glory! Hey, Sarge, who is pulling the ropes this year?" Julien asked as Skipper walked by.

Skipper smirked. "You are."

"What? Why am I pulling?"

"It's your turn. Your first Christmas here, which was third grade, Riley and Jacob pulled it. Fourth grade, Kowalski and Rico pulled it. Fifth grade, Private and I pulled it. Sixth grade, Mort and Kylie pulled it. This year, seventh grade, you and Maurice pull it."

"Aww!" Julien whined.

"What's so bad about pulling it?" Mr. Candlewick asked.

"Because! You have to go all the trouble of letting go of the ropes before diving in! It's such a hassle."

Julien eventually out up with tugging the ropes, which turned out to be fun, and he even had the fourth most amount of candy canes. For the most part, he had a lot of fun at the party. It was about ten o' clock when he realized that Private's words weren't the only reason he was feeling down. He realized this when he saw Rico and Molly flirting with each other (ooh la la).

"What's wrong?" This is what Maurice asked Julien when he found him slumped on one of the chairs against the wall. He sat down next to him.

Julien sighed. "Look." He pointed to Rico and Molly, who were sitting on the steps, holding hands.

"So? They do that all the time."

Julien sighed again. He wanted Maurice to get the message without actually having to say it. He did.

"You miss her, don't you?"

Julien nodded. "Maurice. I love her. And now a days, I can't stop thinking about her. I'm afraid that she doesn't miss me back."

"Who doesn't miss you back?" That was Skipper. He, Kowalski and Private had just arrived in front of them. Rico had noticed this and joined them.

Julien frowned. He didn't want Skipper knowing about... her. "You don't know her."

"So? Tell me."

"No."

"C'mon, Ringtail."

"It's nothing you need to concern yourself with!"

"I'll bet. I can't think of one girl who would miss you at all if you left."

Julien was getting mad. "That's because this girl is a girl you don't know, so shut up a little bit."

"C'mon, just say her name."

Julien couldn't take it anymore. He was just about ready to punch Skipper in the nose. But he didn't. He yelled.

Now, before we move on to what Julien yelled, let's backtrack. At about the time Skipper asked who Julien was afraid didn't miss him back, a man and two girls quietly opened the door to the apartment building. They were about to announce themselves, when they heard Skipper ask Julien the question. They decided to listen. And as they argued, one of the girls was silently hoping that Julien didn't say someone else's name. Okay, we'll let Julien yell now.

"You wanna know who she is? Fine! I'll say it! I miss Julia Parker! There, I said it! Happy? I haven't seen her in forever, and right now, she's all I want for Christmas! But I can't have her, 'cause she's thousands of miles away!"

The two girls standing in the doorway looked at each other, silently agreeing that now was a good time to announce their presence.

One of the girls, responding to Julien's statement, called out to him "Not anymore!"

Julien was shocked. He almost didn't turn to the door. He would recognize that voice any where. But he turned around anyway. Looking at the two girls, he knew immediately which one had just called to him. "JULIA!" He screamed this, almost immediately followed by Maurice screaming "JADE!" Both boys began running at full speed towards the door. One of the girls, which most of the other people in the room guessed to be Julia, practically jumped into Julien's outstretched arms, returning the strong embrace he was giving her, as the other girl, Jade, jumped into Maurice.

"Julia." Julien whispered. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too."

"I haven't seen you in four years."

"Wow, you can count to four? Pretty advanced, Julien." Don't worry, Julia didn't say that. Jade did. Julien turned around.

"Parker."

"Ringers."

Much to Julien's surprise, Jade hugged him.

"Uh, your arms are around my body."

"It's called a hug, doofus."

Julien hesitated a moment before sighing contently and returning the hug, as Julia turned to hug Maurice.

"You know, I was actually starting to miss your torture."

"Well, I'm back and ready to roll."

Julien smiled.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, someone tell me what the heck is goin' on here?" Skipper exclaimed, completly confused.

Julien smirked. "Everyone, this is Julia and Jade Parker. They were our bestest friends back in the Madagascar."

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" Maurice asked them.

Both girls looked at each other. At the same time, they said "We moved to New York!"

And Julien screamed. "Really?"

"Yep." Julia said. "In the Bakler Building a few blocks away.

Julien sighed with content as he hugged her again. "This is the best Christmas ever."

Maurice and Jade looked at them as they hugged. "Think they're in love?" Maurice asked Jade.

"Totally." Jade said smirking. She couldn't stand Julien most of the time, nor could she understand why her sister loved him, but she was willing to respect that.

Julien let go of Julia and approached the man, with Maurice coming up beside him. "Good to see you again, Mr. Parker." Mr. Parker glared at the two. You see, Mr. Parker was the girl's father, and he was never too fond of Julien and Maurice. He could respect his daughter's feelings for the boys, however, so he merely nodded. Julien sensed something wrong. He turned back to Julia. "Where's your mom?"

A simple question, right? Wrong. Julia and Jade glanced at each other, then back to Julien and Maurice. "She's... gone." they both said at the same time.

Julien and Maurice's eyes both got wide. "How?" Maurice asked.

"She was sick." Julia said. Julien opened his arms, which Julia walked into, as Jade walked into Maurice's.

"Well, let's not think about that," Julia said, pulling away. "Where's Mort? And Kylie? I haven't seen them in forever!"

"Why would anyone want to see either of them?" Julien asked. At the exact moment, Kylie and Mort appeare, with cookie crumbs all over their mouths.

"Hey Kylie, Mort, remember us?" Jade asked the two fourth graders. Kylie shook her head, but Mort's eyes lit up.

"Julia and Jade!" he exclaimed, running to hug them. Upon hearing their names, Kylie remembered too, and joined the hug.

While they talked, Julien looked at Mr. Candlewick, who was smiling at the scene. Julien walked up to him.

"That's a good girl you got there, Julien. Don't let her go." Mr. Candlewick told him.

"I won't." Julien said. "And thanks."

"Thanks? For what?"

Julien hesitated. "For helping me improve my... selfish ways."

He looked at Private, who was looking at him but tried not to show it. Julien walked up to him. "Thanks for telling me. I don't think I even realized it."

Private smiled. "Any time."

And Julien knew that this really was the best Christmas ever.

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**Well, that's the end. I hope you enjoyed this! I realize that Julien was a bit OOC, but the power of Christmas magic, right? I hope you all have a Happy Holidays! **

**Happy Holidays from InternetGirl123, a.k.a Anna ;)**


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